Leeds United have had some transfer shockers over the years, but the signing of Jean-Kevin Augustin may now be the worst of the bunch.
A club that was been on the brink of going out of business in the not so distant past are bound to have had some awful signings along the way, and while there have been some huge blunders, the situation with Augustin is just utterly ridiculous.
It’s widely accepted that one contender for Leeds’ worst signing ever is Seth Johnson, due to the nature of his arrival, but this may trump even that.
The Johnson deal was simply bizarre, with United’s chairman reportedly inadvertently offering him a salary three-times higher than he wanted, all while paying a £7m fee back in 2001, which was a lot of money 20 years ago.
Johnson went on to underperform, playing just 54 league games for the club and tasting relegation, all while picking up a massive pay-packet.
However, the Augustin deal could be even worse than that as United may end up paying €21m (£18.1m), for a player they will never even officially own.
Indeed, according to Bild, Leeds have lost their case with Leipzig relating to the Whites’ obligation to buy the Frenchman last summer, and that means they’re due to pay the full €21m (£18.1m) fee for the player, despite the fact he now plays for Nantes.
Leeds may end up paying almost £20m for a player they’ve technically already released, and if that is the case, then you have to say it’s one of the worst transfer moves in history.
Of course, it wouldn’t be such a big deal if Augustin had actually helped Leeds get promoted while he was there on loan, and if he had, it may have even been seen as money well spent.
However, with three substitute appearances and zero goals to his name, all while picking up £90k-a-week, which Leeds fully paid, this will undoubtedly go down as one of the worst transfers in the club’s history.
United do have the right to appeal the case with Leipzig, and they are expected to do so, but if things don’t go their way, this surely has to go down as one of the worst signings ever.
Victor Orta usually does a stellar job at Leeds, but this has to go down as a huge blunder from him and his team.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
